October 7, 2010

The Red Dragon

Fireballers get all the attention in prospect land, so it’s not a coincidence that most of the pitchers profiled in this space have above-average torque. In this case, Chapman’s hip-shoulder separation actually breaks the scale.

‘Roldi combines all of the ingredients to achieve maximum torque. He utilizes freakish flexibility to generate a ridiculous load with his upper half, and delays trunk rotation until well after foot strike. The result is perhaps the greatest torque that I have ever seen on a pitcher, though it would take motion analysis data to validate that claim. The heavy scapular load does bring along some potential baggage, given the conditioning necessary for such a high-maintenance delivery. Chapman also carries a slight inverted W, for what it’s worth. …